Access control systems are used in many respects, for example for controlling the access of persons to rooms of a building, as is the case in hotels, office complexes or laboratories for example, to events or else in an abstract form to functions, resources or services, for example computer functions or resources or server services.
A specific use of access control systems is also that of controlling the access of persons to openings of containers, for example deposit boxes or goods delivery containers, in particular parcel boxes. Parcel boxes allow a novel form of delivering/collecting parcels for persons who also wish to receive or send parcels at or in the vicinity of their residence even in their absence. For this purpose, parcel boxes are usually installed in front of the residence belonging to the parcel box user—similar to a mailbox, but with a larger volume capacity—and parcels are then delivered by the delivery agent by placing them in the parcel box or are collected by removing them from the parcel box. In order to prevent misuse and theft, the parcel box must have a lock which can be used to lock the doors of the parcel box. For example, the lock has a latch function, with the result that the door is automatically locked upon closing. However, the problem is that the parcel boxes are installed outside and are not continuously supervised, with the result that there could be the risk of playing children, for example, inadvertently getting locked in the parcel boxes.